A lot of datacenter networks are run by absolute clowns. Not Amazon's
AWS keeps customer costs down in part through networking advances
A recent visit to an Amazon Web Services (AWS) networking lab revealed a fascinating and innovative approach to datacenter networking. AWS VP of Global Network Engineering Matt Rehder dismissed a joke about cage nuts cutting hands, indicating that the joke was not relevant anymore. AWS's new networking model is a flat, single-tier network wired in a deliberately near-random pattern, leading to a more resilient network that costs less to run.
This approach can be up to 40% more energy efficient and has been the default for most new datacenter builds.
The cost efficiencies stem from AWS rebuilding their entire networking stack atop commodity hardware. This has resulted in significantly lower networking costs compared to traditional vendors. The company has not raised prices on existing SKUs and has managed to hold the increase to 9%. Even though there are millions of SKUs in AWS bills, each SKU obscures a stupendous amount of complexity.
An EC2 instance charge covers the CPU, RAM, backplane, power, physical security, IAM security bits, employees, and a tremendous amount of networking magic.
Moving data inside an Availability Zone (AZ) remains free, which is impressive considering the many datacenter facilities comprising a single AZ. The company has chosen to bear the costs of expansion in AZs rather than pass them on to customers. AWS has also changed its approach to network charges, moving towards flat-rate pricing for new network products to eliminate unpredictability in costs. This change is significant and may reshape the industry.
Written by urgent.news from The Register's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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